Dictate your notes in OneNote

Applies To
OneNote for Microsoft 365 OneNote for Microsoft 365 for Mac OneNote 2024 OneNote 2021 OneNote 2016 OneNote OneNote Web App

Dictation lets you use speech-to-text to author content in Office with a microphone and a reliable internet connection. It's a quick and easy way to create drafts, capture notes, and make comments.

How to use dictation

  1. Go to Home > Office Dictate Button   Dictate while signed into Microsoft 365 on a mic-enabled device.
  2. Wait for the   Dictate is Listening   Dictate button to turn on and start listening.
  3. Start speaking to see text appear on the screen.

What can I say?

In addtion to dictating your content, you can speak commands to add punctuatation, navigate around the page, and enter special characters.

Scroll down to see a list of commands available in other languages.

Punctuation

Phrase Output
period, full stop .
comma ,
question mark ?
exclamation mark/point !
new line new line
apostrophe-s 's
colon :
semicolon ;
open quotesclose quotes " "
hyphen -
ellipsis, dot dot dot ...
begin/open single quoteend/close single quote ' '
left/open parenthesesright/close parentheses ( )
left/open bracketright/close bracket [ ]
left/open braceright/close brace { }

Symbols, mathematics, and currency

Phrase Output
asterisk *
backslash \
forward slash /
vertical bar sign, pipe character |
backquote, backtick `
underscore _
m-dash
n-dash
paragraph sign/mark
section sign §
ampersand, and sign &
at sign @
copyright sign ©
registered sign ®
degree symbol °
caret symbol ^
percent sign %
number/pound sign #
plus sign +
minus sign -
multiplication sign x
plus or minus sign ±
division sign ÷
equal sign =
less than sign, left angle bracketgreater than sign, right angle bracket < >
dollar sign $
pound sterling sign £
euro sign
yen sign ¥

Emojis

Phrase Output
smiley face :)
frowny face :(
winky face ;)
heart emoji <3

Editing

Phrase
undo
delete
delete that
delete [word or phrase]
delete last [1-100] words/sentences
insert space
backspace
backspace [1-100]
show help
pause dictation
exit dictation

Creating lists and tables (Web only)

Important

Items marked with * are only available in the web version of OneNote.

Phrase
list (start list, start numbered list, next line, exit list) *
insert [1-10] row above/below*
insert [1-10] column to the left/right*
go to next cell, go up/down/left/right ([1-10] times)*
go to beginning/end of the row*
delete table/row/column*
exit table*

Formatting (Web only)

Important

Items marked with * are only available in the web version of OneNote.

Phrase
strikethrough format [word or phrase]*
bold*
italics*
underline*
highlight*
indent*
decrease indent*
align [left, center, right]*
clear all formatting*
superscript*
subscript*

Other languages

Select from the list below to see commands available in each of the supported languages.

Select your language

Chinese (Simplified)

Punctuation

Phrase(s) Output
句 号
逗 号 ,
换 行换行符分段符 换 行
问 号
感叹号
冒号
左引号右引号 " "
左括号右括号 ( )
分号
短划线 -
左单引号右单引号 ‘ '
左中括号右中括号 [ ]
顿号
撇号 '
省略号 ...

Symbols

Phrase(s) Output
艾特符号at符号 @
星号 *
下划线 _
与号 &
正斜杠斜杠 /
度标记 °

Mathmatics

Phrase(s) Output
百分号 %
井号 #
加号 +
减号 -
乘号 ×
除号 ÷
等号 =
加减号 ±
小于号大于号 < >

Currency

Phrase(s) Output
美元符号 $
英镑符号 £
欧元符号
日元符号 ¥
人民币符号 ¥

Danish (Denmark)

Punctuation

Phrase(s) Output
punktum .
komma ,
spørgsmålstegn ?
udråbstegn !
linjeskift linjeskift
kolon :
semikolon ;
venstre parentes, åben parenteshøjre parentes, lukket parentes ( )
startende anførselstegn, begyndende anførselstegnafsluttende anførselstegn, lukkende anførselstegn " "
nyt afsnit nyt afsnit
apostrof s 's
startende enkelt anførselstegn, åbnende enkelt anførselstegnafsluttende enkelt anførselstegn, lukkende enkelt anførselstegn ' '
venstre kantet parentes, åben kantet parenteshøjre kantet parentes, lukket kantet parentes [ ]
apostrof '
ellipse ...

Symbols

Phrase(s) Output
snabel-a @
stjerne *
skråstreg /
og-tegn &
grad-tegn °

Mathmatics

Phrase(s) Output
plustegn +
plus- eller minustegn ±
divisionstegn ÷
lighedstegn =
pund-tegn, nummertegn, hash-tegn #
procenttegn %
mindre end, større end < >

Currency

Phrase(s) Output
dollartegn $
pund sterling-tegn £
euro-tegn
yen-tegn ¥

Emojis

Phrase(s) Output
smilende ansigt :-)
hjerte <3
trist smiley :-(
blinkende smiley ;-)

Dutch (Netherlands)

Punctuation

Phrase(s) Output
punt .
komma ,
vraagteken ?
uitroepteken !
nieuwe regelregeleinde nieuwe regel
puntkomma ;
dubbele punt :
afbreekstreepje -
en-streepje
linkerhaakjehaakje sluiten ( )
aanhalingsteken openen, beginaanhalingstekenaanhalingsteken sluiten, eindaanhalingsteken " "
nieuwe alinea nieuwe alinea
apostrof s 's
enkel beginaanhalingsteken, enkel aanhalingsteken openenenkel aanhalingsteken sluiten, enkel eindaanhalingsteken ' '
vierkante linkerhaak, vierkante haak openenvierkante rechterhaak, vierkante haak sluiten [ ]
apostrof '
beletselteken ...

Symbols

Phrase(s) Output
ampersand, en-teken &
slash /
onderstrepingsteken, laag streepje _
gradenteken °

Mathmatics

Phrase(s) Output
plusteken +
minteken -
vermenigvuldigingsteken ×
plusminusteken ±
deelteken ÷
gelijkteken =
kleiner dan-tekengroter dan-teken < >
procentteken %
nummerteken, hashtag #

Currency

Phrase(s) Output
euroteken
yenteken ¥
dollarteken $
britse pond-teken £

Emojis

Phrase(s) Output
hart-emoji <3

English

Punctuation

Phrase Output
period, full stop .
comma ,
question mark ?
exclamation mark/point !
new line new line
apostrophe-s 's
colon :
semicolon ;
open quotesclose quotes " "
hyphen -
ellipsis, dot dot dot ...
begin/open single quoteend/close single quote ' '
left/open parenthesesright/close parentheses ( )
left/open bracketright/close bracket [ ]
left/open braceright/close brace { }

Symbols, mathematics, and currency

Phrase Output
asterisk *
backslash \
forward slash /
vertical bar sign, pipe character |
backquote, backtick `
underscore _
m-dash
n-dash
paragraph sign/mark
section sign §
ampersand, and sign &
at sign @
copyright sign ©
registered sign ®
degree symbol °
caret symbol ^
percent sign %
number/pound sign #
plus sign +
minus sign -
multiplication sign x
plus or minus sign ±
division sign ÷
equal sign =
less than sign, left angle bracketgreater than sign, right angle bracket < >
dollar sign $
pound sterling sign £
euro sign
yen sign ¥

Emojis

Phrase Output
smiley face :)
frowny face :(
winky face ;)
heart emoji <3

Editing

Phrase
undo
delete
delete that
delete [word or phrase]
delete last [1-100] words/sentences
insert space
backspace
backspace [1-100]
show help
pause dictation
exit dictation

Creating lists and tables (Web only)

Important

Items marked with * are only available in the web version of OneNote.

Phrase
list (start list, start numbered list, next line, exit list) *
insert [1-10] row above/below*
insert [1-10] column to the left/right*
go to next cell, go up/down/left/right ([1-10] times)*
go to beginning/end of the row*
delete table/row/column*
exit table*

Formatting (Web only)

Important

Items marked with * are only available in the web version of OneNote.

Phrase
strikethrough format [word or phrase]*
bold*
italics*
underline*
highlight*
indent*
decrease indent*
align [left, center, right]*
clear all formatting*
superscript*
subscript*

Finnish

Punctuation

Phrase(s) Output
piste .
pilkku ,
kysymysmerkki ?
huutomerkki !
uusi rivirivinvaihto uusi rivi
kaksoispiste :
yhdysmerkki -
vasen sulkumerkkioikea kaarisulje ( )
puolipiste ;
viiva
uusi kappale uusi kappale
vasen puolilainausmerkkioikea puolilainausmerkki ' '
vasen hakasuljeoikea hakasulje [ ]
heittomerkki '
ellipsi ...

Symbols

Phrase(s) Output
ät-merkki, ät-maininta @
tähtimerkki *
gravis `
et-merkki, ja-merkki &
vinoviiva /
alaviiva _
astemerkki °

Mathmatics

Phrase(s) Output
ristikkomerkki #
prosenttimerkki %
plusmerkki +
miinusmerkki -
yhtäläisyysmerkki =
kertomerkki ×
plus- tai miinusmerkki ±
pienempi kuin -merkkisuurempi kuin -merkki < >
jakomerkki ÷

Currency

Phrase(s) Output
dollarin merkki $
punnan merkki £
euron merkki
jenin merkki ¥

Emojis

Phrase(s) Output
surullinen hymiö :-(
silmää iskevä hymiö ;-)
hymiö :-)
sydänhymiö <3

French (France)

Punctuation

Phrase(s) Output
point .
virgule ,
point d'interrogation ?
point d'exclamation !
saut de ligne saut de ligne
nouveau paragraphe nouveau paragraphe
deux points :
point-virgule ;
guillemet gauche, guillemet ouvrantguillemet droit, guillemet fermant « »
parenthèse gauche, parenthèse ouvranteparenthèse fermante ( )
tiret demi-cadratin -
guillemet simple ouvrant '
crochet droit ouvrantcrochet droit fermant [ ]
apostrophe '
guillemet simple fermant '
points de suspension ...

Symbols

Phrase(s) Output
arobase @
astérisque *
trait de soulignement _
barre oblique /
symbole degré °

Mathmatics

Phrase(s) Output
signe dièse #
signe plus +
tiret -
signe multiplication ×
signe division ÷
signe égal =
signe pourcentage %
signe inférieur àsigne supérieur à < >

Currency

Phrase(s) Output
signe dollar $
signe livre sterling £
signe euro
signe yen ¥

Emojis

Phrase(s) Output
émoticône :-)
emoji cœur <3

German (Germany)

Punctuation

Phrase(s) Output
punktsatzende .
komma ,
fragezeichen ?
ausrufezeichenrufzeichen !
neue zeilezeilenumbruch neue zeile
doppelpunktkolon :
strichpunktsemikolon ;
öffnendes anführungszeichen, beginn zitatschließendes anführungszeichen, ende zitat « »

Italian (Italy)

Punctuation

Phrase(s) Output
punto .
virgola ,
punto interrogativopunto di domanda ?
punto esclamativo !
a caponuova riga nuova riga
due punti :
punto e virgola ;
virgolette apertevirgolette chiuse « »
parentesi apertaparentesi chiusa ( )
segno di percentuale segno di percentuale
parentesi quadra apertaparentesi quadra chiusa [ ]
aperta virgoletta singolachiudi virgoletta singola ' '
puntini di sospensione ...
trattino -

Symbols

Phrase(s) Output
a commerciale @
asterisco *
underscore _
e commerciale &
simbolo di grado °

Mathmatics

Phrase(s) Output
cancellettohashtag #
segno di divisione ÷
segno di moltiplicazione ×
segno di uguale =
segno di minoresegno di maggiore < >

Currency

Phrase(s) Output
simbolo di dollaro $
simbolo di sterlina £
simbolo di euro
simbolo di yen ¥

Japanese (Japan)

Punctuation

Phrase(s) Output
読 点
句 点
く て ん
ク エ ス チ ョ ン マ ー ク , 疑 問 符
改 行か い ぎ ょ う か い ぎ ょ う
び っ く り マ ー ク , 感 嘆 符 !
ハイフン -
二重かぎかっこ開く , 左二重かぎかっこ右二重かぎかっこ , 二重かぎかっこ閉じる 『 』
左かっこ , かっこ開く右かっこ , かっこ閉じる ( )
セミコロン
新しい段落 新しい段落
左かぎかっこ , かぎかっこ開く右かぎかっこ , かぎかっこ閉じる 「 」
左大かっこ , 角かっこ開く右大かっこ , 大かっこ閉じる [ ]
三点リーダー ...

Symbols

Phrase(s) Output
アット記号アットマーク @
アスタリスク *
度記号 °
アンパサンドアンド記号 &

Mathmatics

Phrase(s) Output
番号記号 #
プラス記号 +
マイナス記号 -
等号 =
パーセント記号 %
プラスマイナス ±
小なり記号大なり記号 < >

Currency

Phrase(s) Output
ドル記号 $
ポンド記号 £
ユーロ記号
円記号 ¥

Norwegian, Bokmål (Norway)

Punctuation

Phrase(s) Output
punktum .
komma ,
spørsmålstegn ?
utropstegn !
ny linje ny linje
kolon :
bindestrek -
venstre anførselstegn, begynnende anførselstegnhøyre anførselstegn, avsluttende anførselstegn " "
venstreparenteshøyreparentes ( )
semikolon ;
tankestrek
kort tankestrek
nytt avsnitt nytt avsnitt
apostrof-ess 's
begynnende enkelt anførselstegn, venstre enkelt anførselstegnhøyre enkelt anførselstegn, avsluttende enkelt anførselstegn ' '
venstre hakeparenteshøyre hakeparentes [ ]
apostrof '

Symbols

Phrase(s) Output
krøllalfategnalfakrøll omtale @
og-tegn &
skråstrek /
gradetegn °

Mathmatics

Phrase(s) Output
prosenttegn %
nummertegnemneknagg #
minustegn -
plusstegn +
multiplikasjonstegn ×
divisjonstegn ÷
pluss- eller minustegn ±
likhetstegn =
mindre enn-tegnstørre enn-tegn < >

Currency

Phrase(s) Output
dollartegn $
britisk pund-tegn £
eurotegn
yen-tegn ¥

Emojis

Phrase(s) Output
rynkefjes :-(
blinkefjes ;-)
smilefjes :-)
hjerte-emoji <3

Portuguese (Brazil)

Punctuation

Phrase(s) Output
ponto final .
vírgula ,
ponto de interrogação ?
ponto de exclamação !
nova linhamudar de linha nova linha
dois pontos :
ponto e vírgula ;
abrir aspasfechar aspas " "
hífen -
parêntese esquerdo, parêntese de aberturaparêntese direito ( )
aspas simples inicial, aspas simples de aberturaaspas simples de fechamento, aspas simples de final ' '
colchete esquerdo, colchete aberturacolchete direito, colchete de fechamento [ ]
apóstrofo '
reticências ...

Symbols

Phrase(s) Output
arroba @
asterisco *
sublinhado _
aspa invertida `
e comercial &
sinal e &
sinal de grau °

Mathmatics

Phrase(s) Output
tecla jogo da velha #
sinal de adição +
sinal de subtração -
sinal de divisão ÷
sinal de multiplicação ×
sinal de igual =
sinal de porcentagem %
sinal de mais ou menos ±
sinal de menor quesinal de maior que < >

Currency

Phrase(s) Output
cifrão $
símbolo da libra esterlina £
símbolo do Euro
símbolo do Iene ¥

Emojis

Phrase(s) Output
smiley :-)
emoji de coração <3

Spanish (Spain)

Punctuation

Phrase(s) Output
punto .
coma ,
signo de apertura de interrogación ¿
signo de interrogación ?
signo de apertura de exclamación ¡
signo de exclamación !
salto de líneanueva líneanuevo párrafo nueva línea
dos puntos :
punto y coma ;
comillas izquierdascomillas derechas « »
paréntesis de apertura, abrir paréntesisparéntesis de cierre, cerrar paréntesis ( )
comilla simple de apertura, abrir comilla simple '
corchete de apertura, abrir corchetecorchete de cierre, cerrar corchete [ ]
guion corto -
apóstrofo '
puntos suspensivos ...
cerrar comilla simplecomilla simple de cierre ' '

Symbols

Phrase(s) Output
arroba @
asterisco *
comilla inversa `
guion bajo _
y comercial &
barra diagonal /
símbolo de grado °

Mathmatics

Phrase(s) Output
signo de porcentaje %
hashtag #
signo más +
signo menos -
signo de multiplicación ×
signo de división ÷
signo igual =
signo más o menos ±
signo menor quesigno mayor que < >

Currency

Phrase(s) Output
símbolo del dólar $
símbolo de la libra esterlina £
símbolo del euro
símbolo del yen ¥

Emojis

Phrase(s) Output
cara sonriente :-)
emoji de corazón <3
cara enfadada :-(
cara con guiño ;-)

Swedish (Sweden)

Punctuation

Phrase(s) Output
punkt .
kommatecken ,
frågetecken ?
utropstecken !
påbörja ny radny rad ny rad
bindestreck -
vänsterparentes, inledande parenteshögerparentes, avslutande parentes ( )
semikolon ;
tankstreck
kort tankstreck
inledande citatteckenavslutande citattecken " "
enkelt citattecken, inledande enkelt citatteckenavslutande enkelt citattecken ' '
vänster hakparentes, inledande hakparenteshöger hakparentes, avslutande hakparentes [ ]
apostrof '

Symbols

Phrase(s) Output
at-omnämnande @
asterisk *
framåtlutat snedstreck, snedstreck, slash /
understreck _
grav accent `
et-tecken, och-tecken &
gradtecken °

Mathmatics

Phrase(s) Output
procenttecken %
nummertecken #
plustecken +
minustecken -
multiplikationstecken ×
plus-minustecken ±
divisionstecken ÷
mindre än-tecken, större än-tecken < >

Currency

Phrase(s) Output
dollartecken $
pundtecken £
eurotecken
yentecken ¥

Emojis

Phrase(s) Output
blinkande smiley ;-)

More Information

Spoken languages supported

By default, Dictation is set to your document language in Office.

We are actively working to improve these languages and add more locales and languages.

Supported Languages

Chinese (China)

English (Australia)

English (Canada)

English (India)

English (United Kingdom)

English (United States)

French (Canada)

French (France)

German (Germany)

Hindi

Italian (Italy)

Japanese

Portuguese (Brazil)

Spanish (Spain)

Spanish (Mexico)

Preview languages *

Arabic (Bahrain)

Arabic (Egypt)

Arabic (Saudi Arabia)

Bulgarian

Chinese (Traditional, Hong Kong)

Chinese (Taiwan)

Croatian (Croatia)

Czech

Danish

Dutch (Netherlands)

English (New Zealand)

Estonian

Finnish

Greek

Gujarati (India)

Hebrew

Hungarian

Irish

Korean

Latvian

Lithuanian

Maltese

Marathi (India)

Norwegian (Bokmål)

Polish

Portuguese (Portugal)

Romanian

Russian

Slovak

Slovenian

Swedish (Sweden)

Tamil (India)

Telugu (India)

Thai

Turkish (Turkey)

Vietnamese

* Preview Languages may have lower accuracy or limited punctuation support.

Dictation settings

Click on the gear icon to see the available settings.

Dictate Settings

  • Spoken Language: View and change languages in the dropdown
  • Microphone: View and change your microphone
  • Auto Punctuation: Toggle the checkmark on or off, if it's available for the language chosen
  • Profanity filter: Mask potentially sensitive phrases with ***

Tips for using Dictation

  • Saying "delete" by itself removes the last word or punctuation before the cursor.
  • Saying "delete that" removes the last spoken utterance.

These tips work with the web version of OneNote:

  • You can bold, italicize, underline, or strikethrough a word or phrase. An example would be dictating "review by tomorrow at 5PM", then saying "bold tomorrow" which would leave you with "review by tomorrow at 5PM".
  • Try phrases like "bold last word" or "underline last sentence."
  • Saying "add comment look at this tomorrow" will insert a new comment with the text "Look at this tomorrow" inside it.
  • Saying "add comment" by itself will create a blank comment box  where you can type a comment.
  • To resume dictation, please use the keyboard shortcut ALT + ` or press the Mic icon in the floating dictation menu.
  • Markings may appear under words with alternates we may have misheard.
    If the marked word is already correct, you can select Ignore.
    Dictate Suggestions

Privacy

This service does not store your audio data or transcribed text.

Your speech utterances will be sent to Microsoft and used only to provide you with text results.

For more information about experiences that analyze your content, see Connected Experiences in Office.

Troubleshooting

Can't find the dictate button

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  • Dictate is not available in Office 2016 or 2019 for Windows without Microsoft 365

Dictate button is grayed out

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Microphone doesn't have access

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  • Refresh, click on Dictate, and give permission for the browser to access the microphone. Screenshot of OneNote Dictation permissions.

Microphone isn't working

If you see "There is a problem with your microphone" or "We can't detect your microphone":

Dictation can't hear you

If you see "Dictation can't hear you" or if nothing appears on the screen as you dictate:

  • Make sure your microphone is not muted
  • Adjust the input level of your microphone
  • Move to a quieter location
  • If using a built-in mic, consider trying again with a headset or external mic

Accuracy issues or missed words

If you see a lot of incorrect words being output or missed words:

  • Make sure you're on a fast and reliable internet connection
  • Avoid or eliminate background noise that may interfere with your voice
  • Try speaking more deliberately
  • Check to see if the microphone you are using needs to be upgraded